Machine and method for making sealing closures



H. 2. GORA Aprii 10, 195?;

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING SEALING CLOSURES 4 Sheets- Sheet 1 FiledApril 26, 1945 INVENTOR Hem" .9 BY w! ATTORNEYS H. z. GQRA A rifi w,1951 MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING SEALING CLOSURES Filed April 26, 19454 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Henry Z. 60m BY Mi 7% ,ATTORN EYS April 10,1951 H. z. GORA 2,548,304

MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING SEALING CLOSURES Filed April 26, 1945 4Sheets-Sheet I5 '(zfllilllIIIIII'I'II'I'IIIIII 'IIIIIIII'IIIII'IIIA WINVENTOR 20 1'6 60 4a ATTORNEYS April 10, 1951 H. z. GORA 5 5 4.

D MACHINE AND METHOD FOR MAKING SEALING CLOSURES Filed A ril 26, 1945 4Sheets-Sh 4 V 27 J5 I: I

INVENTOR I Z 60m BY M - ATTORNEY5 Patented Apr. 10, 1951 MACHINE ANDMETHOD FOR MAKING SEALING CLOSURES Henry Z. Gora, Stratford, Conn,assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to The Gora-Lee Corporation,Bridgeport, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application April 26,1945, Serial No. 590,459

18 Claims. (Cl. 18-5) This invention relates to the manufacture ofclosure members for containers such as are used on bottles and jars.

Inmy copending application Serial No. 574,555, filed January 25, 1945, Ihave disclosed methods and means for forming and applying to theunderside of caps or lids a gasket member comprising a ring portion forengaging the top edge of the jaw or bottle and a membrane-like portionfilling the hole of the ring portion to isolate the contents of the jaror bottle from the cap or closure which is usually made of metal orother material.

In the form of my invention disclosed in said application, the gasketmember is blanked from a strip of gasket material and the blankedportion is molded directly onto the cover or lid.

Reference is also made to co-pending application Serial No. 607,226,filed July 26, 1945, disclosing other specific and related methods andmeans for forming and applying gasket mem bers to the undersides of capsor lids and to co-pending application Serial No. 642,193, filed January19, 1946, which comprises a continuation in part of this and theabove-mentioned applications.

The present application discloses anotherspecies of my invention forobtaining the'same result, and in this species the gasket member isblanked from a continuous strip of gasketmaterial but is not applied tothe cap at the time it is blanked. Instead, it is carried by a carriermember which is heated to give the blank the desired degree ofplasticity into the range of another carrier on which a metal cap orclosure was deposited. These carriers move in coordination so that thecap and blanked preheated gasket member arrive at an attaching stationwhere the blank is inserted into the cap and pressed against the surfaceof the cap with bonding pressure. After the gasket is adhered to thecap, the carriers move apart and the lined cap is discharged into awaiting receptacle.

The species of my invention herein disclosed is more advantageous insome respects than that disclosed in th companion application aforesaid,especially where the cap has an irregular edge so that the edge of thecap cannot conveniently form the cutting die for the blank as in my saidcopending application, and where'the downturned flange of the cap isrelatively long making the relatively deeper cavity in the cap.

Stated another way, the methods and apparatus of the present applicationare more efficient and satisfactory for lining so-called crown 2 capsfor beverages such as beer and soft drinks or waters, because such capshave an irregular edge more or less scalloped and the cavities arerelatively deep.

The methods and apparatus of the present application are capa-bleofextremely high production and their practice and use reduce the cost oflining such caps for use.

In addition to the saving in operating cost, the cap of my invention,which is lined with a rubber-dike gasket material preferably made ofsynthetic rubber and comprising a gasket ring and enclosing dam, is asubstantial improvement over the previous ways and means for lining suchbottle caps. The ground cork cap liner currently in use is notsatisfactory since it has a tendency to dry out and permit escape ofgases under pressure in the bottle when the bottles are allowed to standupright for any length of time, thus permitting the contents of thebottle to deteriorate, and permit the escape of the contents of thebottle because of frequent imperfect seals.

To avoid this difiiculty, it has been the practice of late to provide athin disk of aluminum foil or of Vinylite material on the center of theground cork cap, but this has added to the cost of production, and,in-the case of the aluminum foil, which in use to be efiective has to beclamped between the cork and the mouth of the bottle by the cap,interferes with the forming of a satisfactory seal.

In the use of the cap of the present invention,

the bottle-engaging portion and the membranethe cap is properly clinchedover the mouth of the bottle. The gasket, being preferably made ofsynthetic rubber, is tasteless and odorless and resistant to attack byany of the materials used in beverages.

According to the method of the present embodiment of my invention hereindisclosed, a quantity of gasket material is worked in aheating mill anda strip therefrom is led between blanking dies carried by coactingdrums, one of which is warmer than the other so that the rubber-likeblank is carried from the blanking station to the inserting station.Metallic bottle caps are fed to carriers on another drum which is drivenin coordination with the blank carrying drum and the caps are heated onthis drum as they are brought to aninserting station where they are metby the carriers and blanks carried thereby. These blank carriers areforming dies.

The drums are so placed that when a cap and blank meet, the blank ispressed into the cap with bonding pressure and at the same time the capis molded by the carrier so that it has the desired annular ring portionwith the bridging central portion. After the gaskets are thus molded inand adhered to the cap, the caps are removed from the carrier and aredeposited in a receptacle.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the present invention-Figure l is a side elevation of the cap lining machine.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view, showing the relation between the warmingmill, the blanking drum, the blank-carryin drum, and the cap-carryingdrum.

Fig. 4 is a detail side view partly in section, showing the way inwhich. th blank dies cooperate.

. Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the way the cap-carryingmember and the blankcarrying dies cooperate to insert the blank and moldit onto the surface of the cap.

Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view showing the manner in which the caps areplaced in the cap carrier.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the stripper for removing the lined caps fromthe cap-carrying drum.

Fig. 10 is a view of the stripper mechanism as viewed from the line|fi--HJ of Fig. 6.

. Fig. 11 is a sectional view showing in perspective one half of a crowntype cap with the gasket of the present invention secured in the same.

Fig. 12 is another sectional view showing the manner in which the knivesfor cutting the strip of gasket material from the warming mill may bemounted and adjusted in order to increase or decrease the width of thestrip.

While, for the purpose of illustration, the machine and methods of thepresent application are shown and described as applied to a beveragebottle cap, it should be understood, of course, that the machine may beused and the methods employed for lining any type of cap, lid, or otherclosure for any kind of bottle, jar or container.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, the machine of the presentinvention comprises a framework 20 carrying roller 2| and 22 of awarming mill, a drum 23 carrying on its periphery blanking dies 24, adrum 25 carrying on its periphery punches 26, and a drum 21 carrying onits periphery cap holders 28. The holders 28 receive unlined metal caps29 which are fed to it by a guide 36 having retaining spring fingers30a. From the latter the caps are pressed one by one into successive capholders 28, see Fig. 8, by presser members 31 carried on the peripheryof a drum 32. The cap holders 28 are in the form of cups slightly largerthan the exterior of the caps so that they will be carried around to theliner-inserting station by the holders. To guard against the capsfalling out of the holders as the drum 21 rotates, there is provided anarcuate guard 33 shown in Figs. 3, 6 and 8.

A mass 34 of the material of which the gasket is to be formed is placedin the bight of the rollers 2i and 22 which work and heat the materialin the usual manner. The rollers 21 and 22 have their adjacent surfacesspaced an amount determined by the position of adjustable bearings 35for the roller 22 and fixed by a lock screw 36 so that there is formedaround the surface of the roller 2| a layer 31 of the material. Theroller 2| is cooled by water passing through passages 38 and beingsupplied by a pipe 39, while the roller 22 is cooled but to a lowertemperature than the roller 21 by water passing through passages 40 andsupplied by a pipe 4| so that the material will form a layer 3? on theroller 21 in the wellknown manner. From the layer 3'1 of heated andworked gasket material on th hotter roller 2! is cut a web or strip 42of material and this may be done by means of cutting knives 43 and 44mountedin the framework 28.

The knife 23 is carried by a sleeve 55 while the knife 44 is carried bya rod 46. In order to predetermine the width of th strip 42 cut from theroller, a set screw 4? carried by a sleeve 45 is loosened and the knife44 is moved closerto or farther from the knife 43. Then the set screw 41is tightened. To predetermine the location of the strip 42 of materialto be cut relative to the rollers, th set screw 58 which anchors thesleeve 25 in the frame is loosened and the rod 46 and sleeve 45 areadjusted bodily longitudinally to the desired position and the set screwis then tightened.

The strip of gasket material as shown in Fig. 3 then passes downwardlyfollowing the surface of the die carrying drum 23 with the strip lyingover the dies 24. When a die 24 reaches a point of cooperation with apunch 26 carried by the drum 25, that is to say, approximately theposition shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the gasket material is firmly pressedagainst the surface of the punch and then part of the gasket material isblanked out of the strip 42 to form a disk 49 by the cooperation of theedges 50 and 5| of the punch 25 and die 24. The shapes of the punch 26and die 24 and their relative locations and movements are such that thedisk 49 is formed or molded while it is being blanked from the strip 42,the high portion 52 of the punch producing a relatively thin centralmembrane 53, see Fig. 11, while the lower portion 54 forms a thickerannular ring 55. This ring 55, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 11,forms the outer bottle-engaging portion of the gasket while the membrane53 being integral with the ring 55 closes the space between the inneredges of the ring.

The drum 23 and dies 24 carried thereby are cooled by water flowingthrough passages 56 in the drum supplied by piping 51 while thepunchcarrying drum 25 is heated by hot water or steam passing throughpassages 58 in the drum supplied by piping 59. This causes the punch tobe hotter than the die, and as a result the blank 49 will adhere to thepunch 26 to be carried thereby around with the drum until it meets a capbody 29 carried by the drum 21. Rotation of the punch-carrying drum 25and the cap-carrying drum 2? is so coordinated that as the cap and blankapproach alignment the blank is inserted into the cap, see Fig. 6, andfirmly pressed by the punch against the surface of the cap withsufficient pressure to cause the blank to be bonded to the metal of thecap.

The drum 2'! is heated by steam flowing through passages 60 from asupply piping 61 so as to make the drum 2'] and caps hotter than thedrum 25 and punches 26. The cap being hotter than the attic-poi with thecap as adjacent surfaces of the drums move apart from the insertingposition.

Since the blank is carried to the cap by the punch 26 which forms it andis not disturbed, when the blank is inserted in the cap it retainsexactly the desired shape or is made to have the desired shape at thattime by the pressure produced between the blank-carrying punch 26 andthe cap.

In order to regulate this pressure and make it substantially uniform forall the cooperating punches and cap holders, in spite of the unavoidableslight differences in the manufacture of the various parts, each punchincludes a shank 52 having a screw 63 which can be rotated to move theend of the punch radially inwardly and outwardly. The shank and screw,when set to the desired position, are fixed in that position by setscrews 63.

In order to permit limited rocking movement of the caps 29 in theirholders 28 when the punch with the blank thereon approaches and leavesthe cap, each cap holder is provided with a pad 65 which is backed up bythe round end of a stud 66 threaded in the drum as shown in Figs. 6 and7. The pad has a limiting flange 61 which engages the annular cap holder28 and thus is retained in the cavity 68. A spring 69 between the padand the bottom of the cavity 68 tends to hold the pad and the cap backedby it at right angles to the axis of the drum. When, however, theleading edge of the punch and blank thereon engage the leading edge ofthe underside of the cap, the pad permits the cap to tilt slightly aboutthe round end stud 66 and to assume a condition of substantialparallelism when the cap and punch are opposite each other and the blankis being pressed into the cap. In the same way, when the cap with itsliner leaves the punch, a similar teetering of the pad is permitted. Thethreaded stud 66 may be adjusted so that all of the studs and capsbacked thereby are on the same circular line and it may be locked inthis position by a set screw 70. The ring 28 forming the cap holder islocked in a recess in the drum by screws H in the particular embodimentof the invention shown in Figs. 6 and '7. Also, as shown in thesefigures, the arcuate guard member 33 has a slot '52 through which theends of the punches pass to reach the caps on the drum 2?.

After the blank d9 has been inserted in the cap body 29 by rotation ofthe drums 25 and 27, continued movement of the drum 2'1 causes the capto be gripped by stripping fingers l3 and pulled from the sockets ornests 2t and deposited on a table I l where one after another they willbe pushed into a receptacle or chute l5.

Depending upon the kind of material of which the cap lining gasket ismade, the lined caps may or may not be given heat treating to cure thematerial if necessary.

The strip of gasket material 42 from which the blanks i9 have beenpunched continues to follow the curvature of the drum 23 to the oppositeside of the drum where it is led up to the mill roll 22 to be added tothe mass 34 of material between the rollers 2! and 22. In order todivert the scrap portion of the strip 42 to the end of the roller remotefrom the part from which it came, a guide roller 16 is placed in thepath of the strip between the drum 23 and the roller 22. There is thuscreated at one side of the rollers, the right side as viewed in Fig. 2,a mass of material which is gradually worked out and toward the left endat which point the strip '42 is cut in the particular form of theinvention illustrated.

The mill rollers 21 and 22, the die carrying drum 23, the punch carryingdrum 25, the cap carrying drum 21, and the plunger carrying drum 32 areconnected to be driven together in -synchronism. The mill roll 2| isprovided with a gear 71, and the mill roll 22 is driven by'a gear '18meshing with a gear '11. The drum 23 is connected with a gear 19 meshingwith a gear carried by the drum 25. This gear 80 meshes with a gear 8!connected to the drum 2'! and the gear 8| meshes with a gear 82connected to the drum 32. In order that the drums 25 and 21 may beangularly adjusted relative to the gearing so that the cooperating partson the respective drums will meet exactly, the gear 89 is not fastenedto the shaft carrying the drum but is connected to it by an arm 83 whichhas screws 86, the ends of which engage one of the spokes or otherprojecting part of the drum. By loosening one screw and tightening theother, the angular position of the gear on the drum shaft can .bevaried. The machine may be operated by a motor 85 through a belt orother suitable drive 88 to a pulley '81 having a pinion 88 driving agear 89 on a shaft for the mill roll 2 I.

The space between the mill rollers at the ends thereof from which thestrip 42 is out may be closed by a plate 98 adjustably held in place byscrews 9|.

In the form of the invention herein disclosed, the process of preparingthe gasket material, blanking it, and applying it to the caps iscontinuous process, and experience has shown that the apparatus may beoperated at high speeds and thus may economically line the .caps. Itshould be understood, of course, that the apparatus is susceptible ofconsiderable variation and modification, and that the process may becarried out by some automatic or entirely manually operable apparatus.

Other variations and modifications may be made within the scope of thisinvention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. In the process of producing sealing closures for containers, thesteps of forming a gasket blank from a continuous strip of rubber-likegasket material with a heated tool, transporting the blank on said toolinto proximity with a cap structure of higher temperature than the tool,and causing said tool to press the blank against said structure to beadhesively bonded thereto so that a liner is formed on the structure.

2. In the process of producing sealing closures for containers, thesteps of milling a quantity of plastic gasket material, removing acontinuous strip of material from said milled quantity, cutting a gasketblank from said strip by a molding tool, transporting the blank on saidtool into proximity with a cap structure and causing said tool to pressthe blank therein to adhesively bond it thereto so that a liner ismolded on the said structure, and discharging the lined cap structure.

3. In the process of producing sealing closures for containers, thesteps of milling a quantity of plastic gasket material, removing acontinuous strip of material from said milled quantity, cutting a gasketblank from said strip and molding said blank to produce substantiallythe cross- 75 sectional configuration of the finished gasket,

transporting the molded gasket into proximity with a closure member andpressing the molded gasket therein to adhesively bend it thereto so thata liner is formed on the said member.

4. In the process of producing sealing closures for containers, thesteps of milling a quantity of plastic gasket material, removing acontinuous strip of material from said milled quantity, passing saidstrip between approaching punches and dies to cut a gasket blanktherefrom and mold the material of said blank to produce substantiallythe cross-sectional configuration of the finished gasket, transportingsaid molded gasket by one of said punches into proximity with a closuremember and causing said punch to press the molded gasket therein intobonding engagement with said member so as to form a liner on the latter.

5. In the process of producing sealing closures for containers, thesteps of milling a quantity of plastic gasket material to the desireddegree of plasticity; cutting from the quantity on the mill a continuousstrip of gasket material, passing said strip between punch and diecarriers to cut a gasket disk therefrom and mold the material of saiddisk to produce substantially the crosssectional configuration of thefinished gasket, transporting said molded gasket on one of said carriersto a cap holder and cap supported thereon, inserting the molded gasketin the cap and pressing the gasket into bonding contact with theunderside of the cap between the cap carrier and the gasket carrier, anddischarging the lined cap from the cap carrier.

6. In the process of producing sealing closures for containers, thesteps of milling a quantity of plastic gasket material to the desireddegree of plasticity, cutting from the quantity on the mill a continuousstrip of gasket material, passing said strip between punch and diecarriers to cut a gasket disk therefrom and mold said disk to producesubstantially the cross-sectional configuration of the finished gasket,transporting said molded gasket on the punch to a cap holder and capsupported thereon, inserting the molded gasket in the cap and pressingthe gasket into bonding contact with the underside of the cap betweenthe cap carrier and the punch, and discharging the lined cap from the,cap carrier.

'7. In the process of producing sealing closures for containers, thesteps of milling a quantity of plastic gasket material to the desireddegree of plasticity, cutting from the quantity on the mill a continuousstrip of gasket material, passing said strip between a pair of carrierdrums having thereon a succession of matching punches and dies to cut asuccession of gasket disks therefrom and mold the material of said disksto produce substantially the cross-sectional configuration of thefinished gasket, transporting said molded gasket on one of said carrierdrums to a drum having thereon a succession of cap holders eachsupporting a cap, inserting each molded gasket in a cap and pressingeach gasket successively into bonding contact with the underside of itscap between the cap carrier drum and the gasket carrier drum, anddischarging the lined caps from the cap carrier.

8. In the process of producing sealing closures for containers, thesteps of passing a continuous strip of plasticized gasket materialbetween punch and die carriers to cut a gasket disk therefrom and applymolding pressure to the material of said disk so as to cause thematerial to flow to produce substantially the cross-sectionalconfigoration of the finished gasket, transporting said molded gasket onsaid punch to a cap holder and cap supported thereon, causing said punchto insert the molded gasket in the cap, and press the gasket intobonding contact with the underside of its cap between the cap carrierand the punch, and discharging the lined cap from the cap carher.

9. Apparatus for applying liners of moldable gasket material to theundersides of caps or lids, comprising a mill for Working the gasketmaterial and supplying the same in continuous strip form; means forcutting gasket blanks from said strip and molding each blank to producesubstantially a finished gasket; and means for transporting said moldedgaskets respectively into proximity with cap structures and pressing thegaskets therein to be bonded thereto so that liners are formed on thesaid structures.

10. Apparatus for applying liners of moldable gasket material to theundersides of caps or lids, comprising a mill for working the gasketmaterial and supplying the same in continuous strip form; means forcutting gasket blanks successively from said strip and successivelymolding the material of said blanks to produce substantially thecrosssectional configuration of the finished gasket; means for feedingthe blanked-out strip back into the mill; and means for transportingsaid molded gaskets in succession into proximity with successive capstructures and pressing the gaskets therein to be bonded thereto so thatliners are formed on the said structures.

11. Apparatus for applying to the underside of a cap or lid a liner ofmoldable gasket material, comprising a warming mill; a drum having asuccession of dies on its periphery over which a strip of gasketmaterial issuing from the mill passes; a second drum cooperating withthe first-named drum and having a succession of punches on its peripherycooperating with said dies on said first drum for punching circular capliner gasket blanks from said strip of gasket material and subjectingeach gasket blank to a molding operation sufficient to producesubstantially the crosssectional configuration of the finished gasket asthe punches and dies coact during rotation of said drums, said moldedgaskets being carried by one of said drums to an applying station; and athird drum adapted to carry a succession of caps on its periphery andcooperating with the other drums to cause said punches to press thegaskets into and against the undersides of the caps successively duringrotation of the drums, each gasket to be bonded to the underside of acap.

12. Apparatus for applying to the underside of a cap or lid a liner ofmoldable gasket material, comprising a warming mill; a drum having asuccession of dies on its periphery, a strip of gasket material issuingfrom the mill passing around the drum over the said dies; a second drumcooperating with the first-named drum and having a succession of puncheson its periphery cooperating with said dies on said first drum forpunching circular cap liner gasket blanks from said strip of gasketmaterial and subjecting the material of each gasket blank to a moldingoperation sufficient to produce substantially the cross-sectionalconfiguration of the finished gasket as the punches and dies coactduring rotation of said drums, said molded gaskets being carried by oneof said drums to an applying station; means for returning the blankedstrip, after it leaves the periphery of the first drum, to the warmingmill to be re-mixed; and a third drum adapted to carry a succession ofcaps on its periphery and cooperating with the other drums to cause saidpunches to press the gaskets into and against the undersides of the capssuccessively during rotation of the drums, each gasket to be bondedtothe underside of a cap.

13. The process of making closures which comprises, providing a moldablegasket-forming material, operating a punch to blank out a portion ofsaid material and subjecting said blanked out portion to a moldingpressure on said punch sufficient to modif the cross-sectionalconfiguration therof to form a gasket ring, and subsequently employingthe punch to assemble the molded gasket ring in a closure member andcause said gasket ring to adhere to said member.

14. The process of making closures which comprises, providing a moldablegasket-forming material, operating a punch to blank out a portion ofsaid material and subjecting said blanked out portion to a moldingoperation on said punch to modify the cross-sectional configurationthereof to form a closure lining gasket having a gasket ring and acenter membrane of less thickness than said ring, and subsequentlyemploying the punch to assemble the molded gasket in a closure memberand cause said gasket to adhere to said member.

15. A machine comprising in combination, a cooperatin punch and die forcutting and blanking gasket-forming material and molding said blankunder sufiicient pressure to cause the material to flow to modify thecross-sectional configuration thereof to form a gasket ring having amembrane of less thickness than said ring closing the center of saidring; means for supporting a closure member; and means for operatingsaid punch to move said ring and membrane into en gagement with aclosure member and adhere the same thereto.

16. A machine comprising in combination, a series of cooperating punchand die members for successively cutting from a strip of moldablegasket-forming material gasket blanks of predetermined form, means forholding a flanged closure member to receive a blank, each blank beingcarried by one of said punch members to said holding means and closuremember, and means for causing said blank-carrying punch to position saidblank in said closure member with a molding pressure sufiicient to pressthe blank into intimate contact with a surface of the closure and causethe same to be bonded thereto as a gasket of predetermined thickness andformwithin the space surrounded by the flange thereof.

17. The process of making lined closures which comprises, plasticizing abatch of gasket forming material in a plasticizing mill, continuouslyforming a strip of said plasticized material and conducting said stripthrough a path of travel extending away from and spaced a substantialdistance from said mill, continuously blanking out successive portionsof said strip material and subjecting each blanked out portion to amolding operation simultaneously with said blanking operation for thepurpose of modifying the crosssectional configuration of each successiveportion to form a closure lining gasket having a gasket ring and acenter membranes of less thickness than said ring, continuouslyassembling said successive molded gaskets in successive closure mem bersand pressing them into adhering relation with said members to formsuccesive lined closures, and returnin the skeletonized strip forreworking directly to the batch of material in said mill withoutcontacting the strip material with a working surface in said mill.

18. The process of making lined closures which comprises, plasticizing abatch of gasket forming material in a plasticizing mill, continuouslyforming a strip of said plasticizing material and conducting said stripthrough a path of travel ex tending away from and spaced a substantialdistance from said mill, continuously blanking out successive portionsof said strip material and subjecting each blanked out portion to amolding operation simultaneously with said blanking operation for thepurpose of modifying the cross-sectional configuration of eachsuccessive portion to form a closure lining gasket having a gasket ringand a center membrane of less thickness than said ring, continuouslyassembling said successive molded gaskets in successive closure membersand pressing them into adhering relation with said members to formsuccessive lined closures, and returning the skeletonized strip forreworking directly to the batch of material in said mill withoutcontacting the strip material with a working surface in said mill, anddischarging the lined closures and passing them through a curing zone toharden the molded gaskets.

HENRY Z. GO-RA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Date Number Name 1,080,015 Lawson Dec. 2, 19131,318,700 Skolnick Oct. 14, 1919 1,357,141 Bibb Oct. 26-, 1920 1,447,816Peele Mar. 6,- 1923 1,486,937 Taliaferro Mar. 18, 1924- 1,664,273Theroux Mar. 27, 1928 1,996,048 Madina Mar. 26, 1935 2,059,554 Cohn Nov.3, 1936 2,193,860 Mazzeo -1 Dec. 28, 1937 2,167,734 Zonino Aug. 1, 19392,298,057 Kelm Oct. 6, 1942 2,319,040 Conklin May 11, 1943 2,358,176MacDonald Sept. 12, 1944 2,443,826 7 Johnson June 22, 1948

